CNS board exam prep - drug-nutrient interactions are harder than expected
I have my master's in nutrition science and I'm getting ready to sit for the CNS board exam through BCNS. Eight weeks out and scoring 68-72% on the BCNS study guide practice questions, with the passing threshold around 70%.
Biochemistry and metabolism are where I'm most confident - 3 years of grad coursework paying off. But clinical nutrition application, particularly therapeutic nutrition and drug-nutrient interaction questions, is rough. I'm around 58% on those specifically.
I'm doing 2 hours daily - content modules on weekdays, timed practice exams on weekends. The functional medicine and nutrigenomics sections are newer additions to the blueprint that my coursework didn't cover, and I need at least 2-3 dedicated weeks there.
Has anyone found good resources beyond the BCNS study guide for clinical application questions? I've been supplementing with Krause's but the question style doesn't match what I'm seeing in practice sets.
Krause's is great for content but you're right that it doesn't match the exam style. The CNS exam is more functional nutrition oriented than classic medical nutrition therapy, which catches a lot of people off guard.
Drug-nutrient interactions are probably 12-15% of the exam. Statins, metformin, PPIs, and warfarin interactions came up repeatedly. Build a reference table and memorize it before exam day.
Eight weeks is a solid runway. I was at 66% eight weeks out and finished at 74% on the actual exam - the last 3 weeks were most productive once I switched from reading to mostly practice questions.
Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease (Shils) helped me where I needed more depth than the BCNS guide provided. The metabolic regulation sections are worth the density.